1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of exercise equipment and methods. In particular, the invention relates to a system and method for providing streaming and on-demand exercise classes.
2. Description of Related Art
Humans are competitive by nature, striving to improve their performance both as compared to their own prior efforts and as compared to others. Humans are also drawn to games and other diversions, such that even tasks that a person may find difficult or annoying can become appealing if different gaming elements are introduced. Existing home and gym-based exercise systems and methods frequently lack key features that allow participants to compete with each other and that gamify exercise activities.
While some existing exercise equipment incorporates diversions such as video display screens that present content or performance data to the user while they exercise, these systems lack the ability to truly engage the user in a competitive or gaming scenario that improves both the user's experience and performance.
To improve the experience and provide a more engaging environment, gyms offer classes such as cycling classes where the instructor and participants exercise on stationary bikes accompanied by music. The instructor and music combine to motivate participants to work harder and maintain better pedal cadence or tempo. More recently, boutique cycling studios have taken the cycling class concept to dedicated spaces to create even more powerful class experiences.
All of these class-based experiences, however, are accessible only at specific times and locations. As a result, they are unavailable to many potential users, generally are very expensive, and often sell-out so that even users in a location convenient to the cycling studio cannot reserve a class. The present invention addresses these problems, providing a stationary bike that incorporates multimedia inputs and outputs for live streaming or archived instructional content, socially networked audio and video chat, networked performance metrics and competition capabilities, along with a range of gamification features.